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Plenarias
CRITERIA FOR THE CONTROL OF FOOD AND DRINKING WATER IN THE
RECOVERY PHASE AFTER A
NUCLEAR OR RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY
Gusev, I.
1
; McMahon, C.
2
; Perez, M.
3
; Blackburn, C.
4
; Colgan, P.A.
1
*
1
Radiation Protection Unit, International Atomic Energy Agency.
2
Office of Radiological Protection, Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland.
3
Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health,
World Health Organization.
4
Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.
* Presenting author, email: T.Colgan@iaea.org
Following a nuclear or radiological emergency involving the release of radioactivity to the
environment, one of the pathways through which the public can be exposed is the consumption
of food and drinking water containing radionuclides. Several International Organizations have
published guidance on the control of radionuclides in food and drinking water both during the
emergency and subsequently after the emergency has ended. The activity concentrations for
specific radionuclides contained in these guidelines differ due to a number of factors and
assumptions underlying the common objective of protecting consumers under the different
circumstances. Therefore several different sets of activity concentrations for radionuclides in
food and in drinking water are in use around the world. The reasons for having numerically
different activity concentration values, the criteria on which they are derived and the
circumstances under which they are intended to be applied are not always clearly understood.
This presentation summarizes existing international guidance on the control of food and drinking
water in the recovery phase after an emergency has ended. A framework for use by national
authorities to support the derivation of activity concentrations that can be used as radiation
protection criteria for the control of food and drinking water is described. The guideline levels for
radionuclides in food in international trade, developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission,
are explained, and the implications of adopting a similar approach for deriving activity
concentrations for the control of food and drinking water is evaluated in terms of national
standards. In addition, the approach to the control of drinking water developed by the WHO is
discussed, along with approaches to managing situations where the WHO guidance levels are
exceeded.